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Chapter Eighteen
"Welcome back, Thunder-Blade Alchemist, you look much better than the last time I saw you," Colonel Mustang stated as the young alchemist saluted him. "It's strange, but the timing of your arrival seems coincidental, since the Elric brothers were just admitted recently with wounds from a battle in town. Are you sure this has nothing to do with them?"
Winry blushed at his question, knowing good and well it was slightly more than a coincidence, "Well, sir, I felt it necessary to escort my elderly grandmother from our residence here, and believe I am well enough to return to duty at the same time. You may consult with both Second Lieutenant Havoc and Sergeant Fury for any information on my recent sparring matches with them to judge for yourself if I am ready enough to return to duty."
Mustang smiled at the girl's demeanor, "You know, Winry, I know many superior officers who would like it when you report to them, but we can drop the formality here. It doesn't suit me much." He laughed as he saw the girl visibly exhale and release from her rigid standing position. "And as for your recent matches with Havoc and Fury, I just needed to see their cuts and bruises to know you're doing fine again."
Winry grinned at his comment. "But, Winry, I am unhappy to say I do not have any assignments for you for another day or so. Most of Central is busy clearing up the mess at the Fifth laboratory, so the mission descriptions have been taking longer to reach me."
The girl frowned slightly at his news, "What happened at the Fifth laboratory? Is that what Edward and Alphonse were involved in?"
"Correct. To make a long story short, someone has been doing research on the Philosopher's Stone there and had been using convicts from a nearby prison as human sacrifices to help make the stone. From what Lieutenant Ross has reported, the perpetrators were planning on using Edward's alchemy to make the stone." He saw the girl trying to mask her emotions, "Not to worry, though. He's being taken care of and, since your grandmother is here, can also have his automail fixed. Alphonse is beaten up pretty bad, but is staying in Edward's room until he can be fixed."
The teen stayed silent before responding to the new information, "Um, Colonel…What am I supposed to do until my next assignment?"
"That will be up to you, Winry. I should know what missions I have to assign by tomorrow afternoon. Check with me then, and I'll be able to tell you more at that time."
Winry nodded and saluted before leaving the room. As she reached the door, she turned around to face the Colonel again. "Colonel Mustang?" She saw him lift his head from his paperwork and look back to her again, "If you don't mind, I'd like to start doing my own research on the Philosopher's Stone. Maybe I can find something the boys can't." The teenager watched as his eyes softened slightly, and finally nodded his head in agreement. Bowing in thanks, she quickly exited the room before he could change his mind.
Lieutenant Hawkeye turned from her position by his desk and faced her superior officer, "Do you think its wise, Colonel, to let another child become involved with the Philosopher's Stone?"
Leaning back in his chair, Roy sighed to himself, "Not really, but she's like Ed. She'll do it whether I let her or not. I'm just glad I know about it beforehand." Hawkeye smiled slightly at his comment and nodded her head, "Yes, sir."
"These quarters aren't too shabby," Pinako spoke as she looked around Winry's room, "The closet's big enough and you even have your own bathroom!"
Winry smiled as she watched her grandmother wander around the room, "Yeah, they weren't expecting to accommodate a female alchemist anytime soon, so I guess they gave me one of the old officer's quarters until they figure out where to put me."
The older woman nodded as she looked out the window into the courtyard to see the afternoon sun, "So Mustang doesn't have anything for you until at least tomorrow? Well that could make things interesting, seeing that I'm going to fix Edward sometime tonight…"
"Yeah, I don't know what I'm going to do," Winry stated as she pulled out her parent's photo for the night to place it on her nightstand.
"Well, when we were walking from the train station to the cab, I saw a sign for a festival that's being held tonight in the downtown area. Maybe you should go to it and enjoy yourself for a little while."
"Hmm…That sounds like a good idea. Big crowds are always easier to blend into. I should see if William is doing anything tonight," Winry thought aloud.
"Who's William?"
Blushing slightly, Winry explained, "Well, he's a soldier in another section that I'm friends with. Edward doesn't seem to like him though."
A knock at the door caught the attention of the two women, and Winry's eyes grew big at the possibility of it being Edward. Silently she crept up to the door and looked through the small peephole, and visibly calmed. She opened the door and laughed to her grandmother, "This, Grams, is a William," she said as she greeted her friend. He saluted the girl to make her laugh, then handed her some flowers he had brought with him, "Hello, Winry. How are you? I just heard you got back today and I wanted to come check on you."
Winry smiled as she saw the flowers he brought, "Oh, I'm fine. You don't think something like that can get rid of me that easily, do you?"
Pinako saw the younger man sigh, and then smile in relief, "I'm glad. I was worried for a while there, when they said you had to go back home to get your arm fixed. I figured it had to be pretty bad," William looked over and finally saw Pinako standing by the window. "I'm sorry, Winry. I didn't know you had company. Did I come at a bad time?"
"Nah, don't worry. William, meet my grandmother Pinako. Grams, this is William Chadwick," Winry said, introducing the two people. William came up and shook Pinako's hand, much to her surprise, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Hey, William, Grams and I were just talking, and we just found out there is a festival tonight. Do you want to go with me? The young man laughed as he smiled at her, "That's funny! I was just coming to ask you if you would join me tonight…"
"Well, I guess it's settled then. Meet me here around eight-thirty?" Winry asked the soldier, who nodded, then bid his farewell to both of the women and walked out through the door.
Pinako looked to the open door, walked over to shut it, then walked back down to sit on the bed, "Edward is right. I don't like him either."
"What is it with you two? He was nothing else but polite, and you still don't like him? What gives?" Winry sighed as she sat next to her grandmother.
"Child. Colonel Mustang is supposed to be the only one who knows when you come and go. Both Cain and Jean were sworn to be silent, so Edward and Alphonse would not realize you were here. How would a regular soldier know when you arrived, and that you went to Rizenbul to have your arm fixed? It just seems slightly odd to me, that's all."
"Yeah, that does seem odd. I'll have to find out later how he knows. Maybe someone is leaking information," Winry thought out loud, "But at least it will get me out of here so Edward doesn't find me."
Winry stood up and stretched, then clapped her hands in front of her, "Well, Grams, it's not even two in the afternoon yet! Would you like to go shopping over in the automail stores? I bet they've finally got all the latest accessories that used to be only offered by Rush Valley!"
The older woman smiled and nodded, causing the girl to continue talking, "Good, we can also stop by Major Hughes's house as well! I haven't seen him or his family in what seems like forever. Then that will give us enough time to shop and get back so I can get ready, and you can start work on Edward."
Pinako was pleasantly surprised at the selection Central had in the automail industry. The shops in Rizenbul carried essentials to build limbs, but had nowhere near the amount of extras and accessories these shops offered. The two females stocked up on supplies for the house in Rizenbul, then took a cab to a small house on the other side of town, and gave the driver directions on where to deliver the packages at headquarters. Winry closed the gate behind them and slowly walked up to the house with Pinako, happy to be able to visit again. Elysia must be so big by now!
Winry knocked on the door only to be met with silence. She was about to knock again when the door flew open and a small bundle jumped out at both of the women. She caught the bundle as she fell backwards, only to discover it was Elysia, thinking they were her father. Gracia came running from inside the house and laughed as she saw her daughter realize it wasn't her father, causing her to blush.
"Winry! It's been so long dear! Here, let me help you there," Gracia laughed as she picked her daughter up to let Winry stand up, "Now, Elysia, why would you think that was daddy? You know he doesn't knock like that! You've been doing that all day for some reason." She looked back and laughed to the teenager, "You should have seen the look on the mailman's face when she did the same thing earlier!"
Looking down, Gracia finally noticed an older woman accompanying the teen, "Oh, I'm sorry! Pardon my rudeness!" She apologized as she put her daughter down, telling her to go inside and play, then extending a hand to shake Pinako's, "Forgive my manners, I'm Gracia Hughes, and you are?"
Pinako smiled as she remembered Winry being that hyper when she was smaller, "I'm Pinako Rockbell, Winry's grandmother, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Gracia nodded, "Please, come in. Maes should be home any minute now. Would you like to stay for dinner? I can fix some extra, it wouldn't be any trouble." At first the two women resisted, saying it would be too much work, but finally agreed after Gracia assured them it wouldn't be a problem, and that she insisted they stay.
"Maes will be so excited to see we've got company," the wife stated as she cooked more meat for the stew she had simmering on the stove. "He loves hearing about what's going on, I guess it's a curse he's got for being in that information field of the military."
Elysia came up to Winry a moment later with extra crayons and paper in her hand, "Winry, would you come draw with me?"
Winry smiled at the small girl and agreed, following her to another room to let the two older women chat with each other. She sat on the floor with a piece of paper in front of her, while the toddler laid down and spread the crayons out, "You can use whatever color you want!" she exclaimed, as she grabbed a blue one and began coloring grass on her paper. Winry giggled slightly and pulled out a few and began doodling.
Pinako watched as the two young girls interacted, "You know, your daughter reminds me of Winry when she was younger. She's so carefree and not afraid of anything or anyone."
Gracia nodded and smiled at the comment, "She's just like her father in that aspect."
"Is someone talking about my sweet Elysia again?" came a voice from the front area of the house.
"DADDY!" Elysia screeched as she tossed the crayons aside and threw herself into her father's arms.
"Hey, pumpkin," Maes said as he ruffled the girl's hair, "has Elysia been good to mommy today?"
"Uh-huh, and Winry has been coloring with me too!" Elysia exclaimed as she pointed to the living room, to where Winry now stood and saluted to him out of respect.
"At ease soldier," the father joked, causing Winry to smile, "There's no need for that here."
"Sorry, Mr. Hughes," Winry said as she walked into the kitchen where everyone else sat, "It's kind of a habit now. Colonel Mustang said the same thing to me earlier today."
"He did, did he? Good of him to do so. I'd have to have a word with him if he didn't otherwise. And don't worry; just call me Maes. You make me feel old when you call me 'Mr. Hughes'," he joked, causing Winry and the other adults to laugh.
"Oh, I forgot! Mr. Hugh—Maes, this is my grandmother. She's visiting Central so she can—"
"Fix Edward's arm, I know. I saw him when they brought him in last night. That kid just doesn't know when to stop, does he?"
Winry lowered her eyes and smiled slightly, "Yeah, he doesn't know when to stop."
"But," piped Pinako as she pat the girl's shoulder, "That's why he has us to fix him every time. I have hope that someday he'll learn, and when that day come I'll be sad because I would have lost my best-paying customer," she joked, causing the room to laugh again.
"Dinner's ready!" Gracia announced finally, and everyone took his or her place at the table. There was much talking and laughter at the table, and Winry was glad she and Pinako stopped by; she had forgotten how much fun this family could be.
"That reminds me, Winry!" Maes said as he leaned back in his chair after eating, "Elysia's birthday is in a few days. We're having a big party, so you and your grandmother should come."
"Thank you for the invitation," Pinako said, "But as soon as I'm finished on Edward I'm heading back to the country. This city life is a little too much for these old bones."
"That's sad to hear, because it would be wonderful if you could come," Gracia said disappointed. "But, Winry, you should be here, right?"
"Um, I don't know. Colonel Mustang said he would get some idea of was assignments he could give out by tomorrow," the teenager replied.
"Judging from our work at the Fifth laboratory," interjected Hughes, "I don't think he'll get the assignments by tomorrow. He may be lucky to get them by the end of next week. Central has been having every last person available assessing and cleaning up the mess over there."
"But it's only Friday! You mean I have to avoid those two for almost a whole week?" Winry looked to her grandmother, "What am I supposed to do?"
"Well," replied Gracia, "You're more than welcome to spend as much time as you'd like over here with Elysia and myself. It would be a fun change for a while. You two seem to get along very well."
"Winry is going to spend time with me? Yay!" yelled a happy Elysia from her booster seat. Winry smiled at the child and felt she couldn't say no. "And anyway, Winry," continued Gracia, " the boys haven't come over here in a long time, so you should be relatively safe if you are trying to avoid them."
"Okay, thank you very much you two. You don't know how much I appreciate it."
"You're very welcome, Winry," replied Hughes. "Now, who's up for some tea?"
The three adults, teenager, and child sat in the living room with their various drinks and chatted about everything imaginable. Winry looked at a clock on the wall after a while and saw it was already six-thirty. "Grams, we're going to have to get back soon. You've got to work on Edward, and I need to get ready for the festival."
"Oh, you're going to the festival, how wonderful!" Gracia said as she clapped her hands together, "Those festivals are always a good way to relax and have fun. Maes and I used to go to them all the time when we were younger."
Finishing her tea, Pinako frowned at the teenager, "I still don't like who you're going with."
"Who might that be?" asked Hughes.
Winry rolled her eyes at her grandmother, "He's a soldier from another section whom I met shortly after I became a State Alchemist. His name's William Chadwick, and he's a very nice—"
"But he knows a lot of things he shouldn't," interrupted Pinako, "He knew about when Winry was injured in Heissgart, that she came back to Rizenbul, and he just came by today to welcome her back. We were under the assumption that Mustang wouldn't disclose any of that information because of Edward and Alphonse, but somehow this young man knows a lot he shouldn't…"
"Hmm…William Chadwick. The name doesn't ring a bell, but I can look into it when I go in tomorrow," Hughes said, seeing his wife become upset next to him. "I'm sorry, Gracia, they want me to come in because of the investigation. I don't have a choice in the matter!"
Winry stood up and thanked the couple for the tea, "Well, don't worry about it too much. Don't take any extra time that is needed for the investigation, I'm sure it's not a big deal how he knows."
The teenager heard her grandmother disagree behind her, but decided to ignore her. The couple walked them to the door, and Winry kneeled down to hug the small child. She could see tears forming in the child's eyes, "Winry, are you going to come back?" Ruffling her hair slightly, Winry pulled the girl in for a big hug, "Of course Elysia. I said I would, didn't I?" The child pulled back and gave her a piece of paper with lots of color on it. It had two blond girls, one taller than the other, holding hands on a field of blue grass. The taller girl had a silver arm and leg. Winry looked up to see the young child smiling, "It's us Winry. We'll play a lot next time!"
"Yeah," replied the teen, "We'll play a lot when I come back." She placed a kiss on the girl's forehead and watched her wave and run behind her mother's dress. Gracia bid them goodnight and walked back in to give her daughter a bath and put her to sleep.
"She's really cute, Hughes," Pinako said as she watched the mother and daughter go into the house. He turned his head to watch them as well, "Yeah, she's daddy's little angel. I just noticed how much alike you two look, Winry. You could pass as sisters!"
Winry laughed at the comment and nodded her head. "Well, I guess we'll be on our way. I'll see you three soon, okay?"
Hughes nodded and crossed him arms, "Until I find out more on this Chadwick guy, don't go anywhere where there's not a lot of people, okay? "
Winry sighed as she finally gave up fighting the adults over the situation. "Okay, I won't."
Hughes smiled and waved as the two women walked to the waiting taxi. Winry turned her head around when he heard Hughes shout, "And don't forget my baby's birthday is in a few days! It's going to be a good party!" She waved as her and Pinako got into the taxi to go back to headquarters.
"They are good people. I'm glad you know them." Pinako stated after a while of relative silence.
"Hmm? Yeah," Winry smiled, "They're good people."
"Isn't Edward's birthday coming up in a few days as well?" asked Pinako.
Winry's eyes opened wide, and she hit her forehead for forgetting, "Yeah, I forgot it's on the same day as Elysia's. Grams? I have something for you to give to Edward tonight if you would. It's in my room, so we'll have to get it before you go over there. Would you give it to him for me?"
The older woman nodded, causing the teenager to smile slightly. She nodded her thanks, and then enjoyed the peaceful ride back to the headquarters.